Link - Film Semi Hongkong
an early stage Building Information Modeller
for the rest of us, mere mortal architects
a little bit goes a lot further
It is free.
Download now!
an early stage Building Information Modeller
for the rest of us, mere mortal architects
a little bit goes a lot further
This era produced stars like , who eventually transitioned from Category III roles to become an internationally acclaimed, award-winning actress. Directors like Andrew Lau and Herman Yau also honed their craft in this unrestricted environment before moving on to direct mainstream hits like Infernal Affairs .
Filmmakers soon realized that the Category III label could be a marketing goldmine. It promised "forbidden" content that couldn't be seen on television, leading to a golden age of daring, low-budget, and highly creative cinema. Beyond the Eroticism: A Genre Mash-up
In 1988, Hong Kong introduced a three-tier film rating system. was the most restrictive, intended for audiences aged 18 and older. While this included eroticism, it also covered extreme violence, horrific themes, and political taboos.
Influenced by Chinese folklore, some films blended supernatural elements with adult themes, featuring ghosts, demons, and Taoist magic.
Unlike many "B-movies," several of these films featured established actors, professional cinematography, and choreographed action sequences that rivaled mainstream blockbusters. Iconic Figures and Influence
Whether viewed as a guilty pleasure or a piece of cinematic history, the "film semi" of Hong Kong remains a bold, chaotic, and fascinating chapter of Asian film history.
What makes "film semi" from Hong Kong distinct compared to Western adult films is the production quality and genre-bending. Many of these movies featured:
As the Hong Kong film industry shifted in the 2000s toward the Mainland Chinese market—which has stricter censorship laws—the classic "film semi" era largely faded. However, these movies remain cult classics. They are studied by film historians as a reflection of Hong Kong's social anxieties and creative freedom during a period of immense political transition.
When designing, we need to be in touch with the various spaces we use. After all, we are not termites -- who live inside built matter of the walls. An architect is quite interested in knowing how the spaces are inter-related, and whether they
would work for our users. The walls come as a bye-product of having made these spaces.
TAD respects such an approach. That is why it is very easy to start designing directly in TAD itself. It is like having a scratch pad handy.
But if you think this is just a bubble diagramming too ... well, it is not. You can even create the entire model; including the built matter that is present in the building.
What it does NOT do is drafting. For that, you can easily export from TAD and use the regular CAD software that you were using earlier.
The adjoining photo shows the internal stack through the tiny row-house.
The west wall has a bit of glass blocks. It not just lights up the space
but it drives the air inside the stack. This is a intricate vertical space
that goes through the row house to provide ventilation -- all modelled
inside TAD
TAD helps you iteratively design. Like a potter at work. At any point in time, you can extract objective information such as areas, distances and so on. What is the point of designing a building only to realize at the final stages that some
mathematical criteria was not right?
This capability of querying into the design is very powerful. TAD has a built in language called "ARDELA" (ARchitectural DEsign LAnguage) That can be used to create add-ons to provide additional querying functionality. These add-ons probe into
your model and provide you answers.
We would be releasing a marketplace for these probes -- and also a simple way for you to write your own probes too
The adjoining photo, a small gazebo kind of space was carved out on the
terrace on one part of the split-level in the rowhouse. An ARDELA area
add-on (probe) did all the calculations. We were then confident that we
can get that semi-enclosed space, without it being counted by the municipality
(in India, these area calculations are known as FSI calculations)
Over 3 million of actual built projects done over last 30 years. (From the office that created TAD) Scores of unbuilt ones
Nerul, Navi Mumbai, India
Nerul, Navi Mumbai, India
Nerul, Navi Mumbai
This era produced stars like , who eventually transitioned from Category III roles to become an internationally acclaimed, award-winning actress. Directors like Andrew Lau and Herman Yau also honed their craft in this unrestricted environment before moving on to direct mainstream hits like Infernal Affairs .
Filmmakers soon realized that the Category III label could be a marketing goldmine. It promised "forbidden" content that couldn't be seen on television, leading to a golden age of daring, low-budget, and highly creative cinema. Beyond the Eroticism: A Genre Mash-up
In 1988, Hong Kong introduced a three-tier film rating system. was the most restrictive, intended for audiences aged 18 and older. While this included eroticism, it also covered extreme violence, horrific themes, and political taboos.
Influenced by Chinese folklore, some films blended supernatural elements with adult themes, featuring ghosts, demons, and Taoist magic.
Unlike many "B-movies," several of these films featured established actors, professional cinematography, and choreographed action sequences that rivaled mainstream blockbusters. Iconic Figures and Influence
Whether viewed as a guilty pleasure or a piece of cinematic history, the "film semi" of Hong Kong remains a bold, chaotic, and fascinating chapter of Asian film history.
What makes "film semi" from Hong Kong distinct compared to Western adult films is the production quality and genre-bending. Many of these movies featured:
As the Hong Kong film industry shifted in the 2000s toward the Mainland Chinese market—which has stricter censorship laws—the classic "film semi" era largely faded. However, these movies remain cult classics. They are studied by film historians as a reflection of Hong Kong's social anxieties and creative freedom during a period of immense political transition.
For far too long, we architects have not asked ourselves how we may do a better job in this world. Instead we just relied on some outside expertise and hand-me-downs. Let us rise and think for ourselves.